


trees

by silentspaces



Category: JOshua Dun - Fandom, Twenty One Pilots, Tyler Joseph - Fandom, josh dun - Fandom, joshdun - Fandom, joshler - Fandom, joshuadun - Fandom, twentyonepilots, tylerjoseph - Fandom
Genre: M/M, josh dun - Freeform, joshler - Freeform, twenty one pilots - Freeform, twentyonepilots - Freeform, tyler joseph - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 16:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14312556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentspaces/pseuds/silentspaces
Summary: josh's walk home was more or less a detour, travelling where the curvy concrete streets turned to long grass and the smog on the horizon evaporated into branches and tree leaves that shielded the sky. where city was no longer city, and the branches of the trees reached high into the sky like nature's skyscrapers.





	1. prologue

josh's walk home was more or less a detour, travelling where the curvy concrete streets turned to long grass and the smog on the horizon evaporated into branches and tree leaves that shielded the sky. where city was no longer city, and the branches of the trees reached high into the sky like nature's skyscrapers. the sun had nearly settled upon the horizon, casting bright colors across the sky that blended together with the thin, wispy clouds. out here, the air was fresher and nature bloomed without human interference. 

the boy stood where the cracked and crumbled road came to an abrupt end, long and soft grasses engulfing the rest of the land. he tipped his head down, eyes fixated on his beat up sneakers as he slid them off, scooping them up and stepping his sock-covered feet into the soft grass.

his time to decompress started right then; walking along an uncut grassy path with trees on both sides with long, winding branches that reached to meet each other. he couldn't quite decide where to fixate his eyes on, whether it would be the beautiful horizon, the winding branches, or the shiny apples that hung from their limbs. the boy was almost in a dream-like state, but knocked back into his aware consciousness as an apple dropped from the tree and bonked him straight on the head.

josh's hand flew up to cover the top of his head, shielding himself from any other apples that would fall from the tree branches above. he squinted slightly, massaging his fingers into the large bump that had surfaced and exhaling a groan. 

should've known the damn apples would be falling this far into the season. the redhead thought to himself, huffing a frustrated breath. 

it was then when he tried to concentrate on the fresh air and the colorful scenery that surrounded him, slipping back into a dreamy state only to be yanked back out of it when another shiny red apple bonked him on the head. once could have been an accident, and maybe two was a coincidence, but josh doubted those odds. he tilted his chin upwards and let his head fall back, eyes scanning the branches.

he saw what he expected to see, a sea of green with dark branches snaking through the rustling leaves. what josh didn't expect, though, was for his gaze to be met by another pair of dark brown eyes just like his.


	2. no. 1

what josh didn't expect, though, was for his gaze to be met by another pair of dark brown eyes just like his.

...

josh didn't speak, lips parted and his face contorted in a sort of dumbfounded look. this wasn't something that he came across every day, a living, breathing human being sitting on the branch above him with an apple in hand. the silence was held for about another two seconds, impatience coming to the other unidentified human.

"who the fuck are you?" the words escaped his mouth crudely, and he held a stern gaze with josh as he bit into a juicy red apple that was similar to the two that had bonked josh on the head.

josh pressed his lips together, parted them again, and then brought them back together. he looked like he had something to say, or he was at least thinking of something to say, but the stranger perched upon a thick tree branch jumped the gun for the second time.

"do you talk?" he spoke again, but his voice was much kinder this time without the curse words or snappy tone.

the stranger slid from the tree branch, feet landing on the dusty ground with a thud before he brushed the thighs of his ripped jeans off. he tossed the half eaten apple aside, clearing his throat. when he looked up, his thick, uneven brows were furrowed. he gave josh a once over, noting the obvious details like his bright hair, shoeless feet, and his persistent silence. the stranger's name was tyler, black fingerless gloves wrapped around his dainty hands with holes for his calloused knuckles, a large ripped shirt draped over his shoulders, and what looked like a sachel swung over his shoulder. he definitely did not look like your typical citizen dressed in a dull work uniform or monotonous colors, but there was something about him that was off, and josh couldn't put his finger on it.

"i'm gonna take that as a no." tyler spoke again, eyes slightly narrowed.

josh seemed a bit lost in deep thought, and though he was dressed in a dull work uniform like any other citizen would be at this time of day, tyler could tell that one. josh would not rat on him and two. if he did, tyler would kill him. he had his own little innerworkings of his mind, how he processed things, it was a lot different than most people thought.

tyler noted the beat up sneakers that josh's hands clenched tightly, and the stranger motioned for josh to follow him down the path, an unused road that had been overtaken and suffocated by foliage. to his surprise, josh followed, but he remained silent. josh was panicking in his head, wondering who he had stumbled upon and scolding himself because his mother always told him to take the short way home and how outside of the city was full of dangerous things and dangerous people. what would she think of him now?

the two boys made their way down the path in silence, and while josh knew where he was supposed to be going, where he would be going was unclear. he couldn't will himself to speak to the stranger, afraid anything he had to say might put him in danger. josh had taken this way home from school since he was eleven years old and stumbled upon the broken road. it was shortly after it had been closed off, the asphalt still crumbling into broken pieces and being swallowed by the long grass. in those six years of walking the same way, he hadn't once experienced something like this.

tyler wasn't drawing him astray from his path, but instead walked alongside josh with a comfortable distance between them. he knew josh's fear would keep him quiet, but he was so curious as to why a citizen would willfully take a step outside of the city. more specifically, he was curious as to why a citizen would take a step outside the city and want to return.

"you're an outsider." josh blurted finally, voice cracking in the middle of his words much to his embarrassment.

tyler's train of thought, much to his disappointment, was brought to a halt by josh's words.

"so you do talk." tyler replied, the type to say whatever came to mind without thinking.

josh nodded in response to tyler's words, but his facial expression was still contorted in a thoughtful way. as the number of trees became less and less, the grassy path molded back into hard asphalt, and smog from the distant city permeated the blue skies once again, tyler came to a halt. josh stopped too, turning to face tyler. the two met gazes as they had before, but this time tyler's eyes weren't upsidedown because josh was looking up, and he could see the rest of him.

it was an awkward silence, but not a long one, tyler offering a weak salute in josh's direction.

"ciao." tyler said simply, turning back toward the arch of trees began again.

josh watched as the foilage swallowed tyler's appearance whole, and he waited for a moment. he didn't say anything else, think anything else to himself, his mind pinned on the rude boy with brown eyes just like his and weirdly accessorized fingerless gloves. the redhead pursed his lips into a thin line, set his beat up sneakers on the ground and sat on the edge of the road. he shoved a foot into each one by one, proceeding to slowly tie up his laces.

once he was finished, he took one last deep breath of the fresh air and proceeded down the broken road back toward the city, toward home.


End file.
